Edina Müller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Edina Müller

Edina Müller
Personal information
Nationality	Germany
Born	(1983-06-28) 28 June 1983 (age 42)
Sport
Country	Germany
Sport	Wheelchair basketball Paracanoeing
Disability class	2.5 (wheelchair basketball) KL1 (canoeing)
Event(s)	Women's team
College team	Illinois Fighting Illini
Club	Hamburger SV
Coached by	Martin Otto (wheelchair basketball) Jens Kröger (canoeing)
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals	2008 Summer Paralympics 2012 Summer Paralympics
Medal record Representing  Germany Women's wheelchair basketball Paralympic Games Gold 2012 London Team Silver 2008 Beijing Team World Championships Silver 2010 Birmingham Team Silver 2014 Toronto Team Bronze 2006 Amsterdam Team Women's paracanoeing Paralympic Games Gold 2020 Tokyo KL1 Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro KL1 Bronze 2024 Paris KL1 World Championships Gold 2016 Duisburg KL1 Silver 2015 Milan KL1 Silver 2019 Szeged KL1 Silver 2021 Copenhagen KL1 Bronze 2024 Szeged KL1 European Championships Gold 2016 Moscow KL1 Gold 2022 Munich KL1 Silver 2015 Račice KL1 Silver 2024 Szeged KL1 Bronze 2017 Plovdiv KL1 Bronze 2021 Poznań KL1

Edina Müller (born June 28, 1983) is a German athlete. She is famous for playing wheelchair basketball and for being a paracanoer. She played wheelchair basketball for clubs like ASV Bonn and Hamburger SV. She also played for Germany's national team.

With the German national wheelchair basketball team, she won many medals. These include a bronze at the 2006 World Cup. They also won the European Championship three times (2007, 2009, 2011). She earned a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. Later, she won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.

Her team was named "Team of the Year" in disabled sports in 2008. They received Germany's highest sports award, the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf). After winning gold in 2012, they received a second Silver Laurel Leaf. Edina also won two U.S. championships with her college team, the Illinois Fighting Illini. She helped ASV Bonn win the European Cup in 2009.

After the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship, where she won silver, Edina stopped playing wheelchair basketball. She then started canoeing. In 2015, she won silver in a paracanoe race at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup. In 2016, she won gold at the same event.

Edina's Early Life and Start in Sports

Edina Müller was born on June 28, 1983. She grew up in a town called Brühl in Germany. When she was 16, in the year 2000, she was playing volleyball. She felt a sudden pain in her back.

A doctor tried to help her back, but soon after, she lost feeling in her legs. She was rushed to the hospital. Doctors found a blood clot, which caused her to become paralyzed. This condition is called paraplegia. She stayed in the hospital for four months.

After leaving the hospital, Edina had to use a wheelchair. She wanted to play sports again. She first tried sitting volleyball. Then she played wheelchair tennis and even won the Hungarian Open in 2005. But she eventually found her passion in wheelchair basketball. She joined the ASV Bonn team.

In 2005, the coach of the German national team, Holger Glinicki, invited her to a training camp. The next year, she officially joined the national team. She helped them win a bronze medal at the World Championships in Amsterdam.

Playing College Basketball in the U.S.

Edina's professor, Dr. Horst Strohkendl, suggested she go to the United States for her sports career. In 2006, she went to a basketball camp in Illinois. There, Michael Frogley, a coach for the Canadian men's national team and the Illinois Fighting Illini college team, noticed her talent.

She joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign team. With them, she won the National Championship twice. During her breaks from college, she would travel with the German women's national team. In 2007, the German team became European champions in their home country.

Edina finished her degree in 2008. She then moved back to Germany. She helped her club team, ASV Bonn, win the European Cup in 2009. From 2011 to 2014, she played for Hamburger SV. Her degree from the U.S. was accepted in Germany. She became a rehabilitation therapist. She worked with patients who also used wheelchairs. She helped them get stronger and move around better. She felt her own experience helped her connect with her patients.

Paralympic Success and New Challenges

In September 2008, Edina played in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. Her German team played against the United States in the gold medal game. The U.S. team had some of her former college teammates. Germany lost, but they still won silver medals.

After the Paralympics, the team was honored. They were named the national "Team of the Year." They also received the Silver Laurel Leaf. This is Germany's highest sports award. The German President, Horst Koehler, gave them the award. Edina's hometown also honored her.

Edina helped the national team win the European Championship again in 2009. They hoped to play the United States again at the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London. But instead, they faced the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team. This team had some of her former Illinois teammates. Germany won the gold medal in front of a huge crowd.

After this victory, they received another Silver Laurel Leaf. President Joachim Gauck gave them the award in November 2012. They were also named Team of the Year again for 2012.

Switching to Canoeing

Edina stopped playing wheelchair basketball after the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship. She won a silver medal at that event. After retiring from basketball, she started canoeing. She trained at the Hamburg Canoe Club.

Edina said that basketball taught her to always aim for a big goal. She learned that if something doesn't go as planned, it's not the end. But it always helps to have a goal. Her canoe coach, Jens Kröger, said she is easy to motivate. He said she fights hard to reach her training goals and never gives up.

Her hard work paid off. She was chosen for the national team. In May 2015, she won a silver medal in the women's KL1 200 m race. This was at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg. She finished in her best time ever, under one minute. In May 2016, at the same event in Duisburg, she won gold. This was amazing, especially since her canoe had tipped over during warm-up that morning!

Achievements

In action at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris

• 2006: Bronze at the World Championship (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
• 2007: Gold at the National Championship (Warm Springs, United States)
• 2007: Gold at the European Championship (Wetzlar, Germany)
• 2008: Gold at the National Championship (Champaign, United States)
• 2008: Silver at the Paralympics (Beijing, China)
• 2009: Gold at the European Championship (Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain)
• 2010: Silver at the World Championships (Birmingham, Great Britain)
• 2011: Gold at the European Championships (Nazareth, Israel)
• 2012: Gold at the Paralympic Games (London, England)
• 2013: Silver at the European Championships (Frankfurt, Germany)
• 2014: Silver at the World Championships (Toronto, Canada)
• 2015: Silver at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup (Duisburg, Germany)
• 2016: Gold at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup (Duisburg, Germany)

Awards

• 2008: Team of the Year
• 2008: Silver Laurel Leaf
• 2009: Entry in the Golden Book of the city of Brühl
• 2012: Team of the Year
• 2012: Silver Laurel Leaf
• 2013: Hamburg Sportswoman of the Year

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